Carl's Jr. Thousand Oaks to be Remodeled as New and Improved Carl's Jr.

Updated 9/`15/15: The grand re-opening of Carl's Jr at 1384 Moorpark Rd. in Thousand Oaks is set for 6AM on Tuesday, September 22nd.  The first 50 guests will receive a FREE Food For a Year coupon booklet.

Posted 5/29/15: The Thousand Oaks Carl's Jr at 1384 Moorpark Road has been attracting quite a bit of buzz since early this month...it has been fenced off and has been in rapidly changing states of demolition.

Carl's Jr Thousand Oaks on Memorial Day weekend

Much to the relief of CVG Facebook page followers, this location is being rebuilt as a new and improved Carl's Jr. No word on timing at this point.

In the meantime, Conejo Valley Carl's Jr. fans can stop by the Westlake Village and Agoura Hills locations. Learn more at www.carlsjr.com.

Pizza Man Dan's to Open This October at Camarillo Village Square

Pizza Man Dan's has announced it is coming to the Camarillo Village Square at the corner of Los Posas and Arneill in Camarillo. It will occupy the former home of Me-n-Ed's Pizza.

Pizza Man Dan's was created in July 2012 by the former president of Rusty's Pizza.  It now has locations in Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Moorpark. Offering specialty and make your own pizzas, California hot wings, hot subs and more.

Learn more at www.pizzamandans.com.

Drive-Thru Starbucks Coming to Las Posas and Arneill in Camarillo

Update 9/18/15: It opened on Thursday, September 17th! Looking good! The Camarillo Drive-Thru Starbucks joins other local area drive-thru Starbucks locations in Thousand Oaks (T.O. Blvd at Rancho Rd), Newbury Park (Wendy & Grande Vista), Thousand Oaks (Oak Park adjacent) (Lindero and Kanan), Simi Valley (Los Angeles and 1st), Oxnard (Channel Island and Rose, Saviers & Channel Islands), Santa Paula (Palm and Harvard) and Fillmore (Highway 126 and A Street). I'm seeing a trend here.

Original post 7/24/15: A drive-thru Starbucks is work in process at the corner of Las Posas and Arneill in Camarillo. It will be replacing the existing Starbucks at the Camarillo Village Square.

Also in the works is a Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt adjacent to the new Starbucks. In the existing Starbucks location in the plaza (adjacent to Subway and Panda Express on the other side) a Wingstop is planned. No word on timing of course as it  will obviously be contingent on timing of the transition of Starbucks.

REI Woodland Hills is Opening Its Doors on Friday, September 18th

REI Woodland Hills is opening its doors on Friday, September 18th, with grand opening specials at 6220 Topanga Canyon Boulevard (at Erwin Street). REIprovides outdoor enthusiasts with top-brand gear and clothing for camping, climbing, cycling, fitness, hiking, paddling, skiing, travel and more. Also offering a complete bike shop, with a full range of professional bike shop services to help keep you biking the streets and trails year-round. 

Visit www.rei.com/stores/woodland-hills.html for more information. This REI store is about 3 miles closer to the center of Thousand Oaks than the REI store at The Collection at RiverPark that opened about 2 1/2 years ago (my how time flies!).

California American Water Implements Stage 3 Drought Contingency Plans in Ventura County

On April 1st, 2015 Governor Jerry Brown imposed mandatory 25% statewide water reduction from 2013 and prohibited water uses.  

But this 25% wasn't imposed across the board. The State Water Resources Control Board imposed cutbacks ranging from 4  to 36% from 2013 water use, applying higher guidelines to communities with higher consumption..

California American Water received a target reduction of 32% for its Ventura County customers, near the top of the state's guidelines. From June through August, a cumulative reduction of 27.2% was met, nearly 5% lower than the target. Cal Am customers in the Conejo Valley include most folks west of Moorpark Road.  Most other residents are served by the City of Thousand Oaks and California Water Service. 

As a result, Cal Am's Ventura County customers have been moved from Stage 2 to Stage 3 water-use restrictions. Effective immediately, water use by Cal Am customers in Ventura County is limited to one day a week - odd numbered addresses on Saturdays and even numbered addresses on Sundays  - no more than 15 minutes per station, between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. Exemptions made for hand-watering, drip and microspray irrigation.

Additionally, a "drought surcharge" has been implemented. Customers who use more than 8,976 gallons of water per month will pay an extra 21 cents for every 100 gallons used.

These rules apply only to Cal Am customers. City of Thousand Oaks and Cal Water customer are not impacted at this point.

More information at www.californiaamwater.com/drought.

Ventura County District Cal Am customers are the only ones currently impacted by this change. Why? For starters, Cal Am's other customers did not receive the same level of Residential Gallons Per Capita Day (R-GPCD) reduction standard, ranging from 8% in San Diego County and Monterey to 28% in Los Angeles County.

More specifically, here is what the Water Board indicates was R-GPCD measured for the period Jul-Sep 2014 that was used to determine conservation standards in various local jurisdictions:

• Cal-Am Water Ventura County District: 184.6 R-GPCD - 32% reduction
• City of Thousand Oaks Water District: 163.7 R-GPCD - 28% reduction
• California Water Service - Westlake: 336.7 R-GPCD - 36% reduction
• City of Camarillo: 107.5 R-GPCD - 20% reduction
• Golden State Water Co. Ojai: 261.5 R-GPCD - 36% reduction
• Golden State Water Co. Simi Valley: 129.8 R-GPCD - 24% reduction
• City of Oxnard: 66.6 R-GPCD - 12% reduction
• City of Santa Paula: 160.2 R-GPCD - 28% reduction
• Triunfo Sanitation District/Oak Park Water Service: 195.7 R-GPCD - 32% reduction
• Ventura County Waterworks District 1: 175.3 R-GPCD - 32% reduction
• Ventura County Waterworks District 8: 156.1 R-GPCD - 28% reduction
• Las Virgenes Municipal Water District: 318.4 R-GPCD - 36% reduction

The California State Water Resources Control Board has an online Drinking Water Supply Service Area Lookup Tool to determine who the water provider is for specific location at www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/drought/water_supplier.shtml.

Looking to report water waste? There's an easy to use online tool at savewater.ca.gov.

Which Wich Opened Today at The Shoppes at Westlake (Closed in 2021)

Which Wich closed its doors in December 2021.

Today, Which Wich Superior Sandwiches opened at The Shoppes at Westlake, 30374 Russell Ranch Road, across from the Guitar Center and Target store. 

Which Wich offers over 50 sandwiches and with 60 available toppings. Visit www.whichwich.com or call 818.575.9760 for more information.

Custom Melt in Moorpark Closed Its Doors in Late August

Custom Melt, which opened its doors in May 2012, announced on August 31st that it has closed. The owners continue to operate Custom Pie next door at 6593 Collins Drive in Moorpark.

Cal Lutheran University Ranked 16th in U.S. News List of Top Regional Universities

U.S. News & World Report ranked California Lutheran University among the top regional universities in the West for the 21st consecutive year.

Cal Lutheran is ranked 16th in the top tier of 87 regional universities in 15 Western states. The field included universities that provide a full range of undergraduate majors and master’s degrees but few doctoral programs. The rankings were released today in U.S. News’ 2016 Best Colleges report.

The Thousand Oaks-based university, which provides many opportunities for students to work closely with professors inside and outside the classroom, had a student-faculty ratio of 16-to-1, and the proportion of its classes that had fewer than 20 students increased to 59 percent. The proportion of classes with 50 or more students held steady at 1 percent.

Students working with assistant professor of biology Kristopher Karsten on lizard research (Photo credit: Brian Stethem)
 

The report also considered the freshman retention rate, graduation rate, the university’s assessment by peers at other colleges, and the alumni giving rate. It looked at the academic qualifications of freshmen by factoring in the acceptance rate, the standardized test scores of freshmen and the proportion of freshmen in the top 25 percent of their high school class.

Cal Lutheran ranked 14th among regional universities in the West in the U.S. News Best Colleges for Veterans list. The university has appeared in this ranking every year in this list's three-year history.

The university made the U.S. News list of A-Plus Schools for B Students for the sixth year in a row, showing that admissions policies are flexible enough to allow some students who aren’t at the top of their classes to get in and that students can then go on to thrive during their undergraduate years.

The latest rankings are posted at usnews.com and will be featured in the “Best Colleges 2016” guidebook that is available online and will hit newsstands Sept. 29.

Cal Lutheran also made this year’s lists of Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges, Money’s Best Colleges, Washington Monthly’s Master’s Universities and PayScale’s College Salary Report.

With an enrollment of about 4,200 students, Cal Lutheran offers undergraduate and graduate programs through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Management, Graduate School of Education, Graduate School of Psychology and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. It has additional locations in Woodland Hills, Westlake Village, Oxnard, Santa Maria and Berkeley.